Making Solarized Prints

Solarization is one of the most accessible experimental printing techniques, one which produces a print that has the qualities of both a positive and a negative. By giving the print a brief exposure once it has begun to develop, a partial or extreme reversal of tones is achieved, as well as sharply-defined lines that appear wherever there is a sharp contrast between black and white in the image. (These are called Mackie lines.)

There are several different approaches to solarization and this is only one of them. You will find that the effect is achieved better with some photo papers than others. Generally, high contrast graded, fiber papers work better multigrade fiber papers, as well as images that have high contrast and lots of adjacent whites and blacks. RC paper is difficult to use because it develops too quickly to control or even to create the effect. Some photographers have found that developer that has already been used will produce a better effect than fresh developer. Here is a method that you can use to begin your experimentation:

• Expose the photo paper to the negative (either enlarged or contact printed).
• Place the paper in a tray of developer and agitate vigorously for between 15 and 45 seconds.
• Remove the print from the developer and place on a clean glass. Squeegee off the excess developer leaving no smears or drops. Do not rinse it.
• Allow the print to rest for between 30 seconds and 5 minutes in order to exhaust all of the developer in the print.
• Expose the print to white light using another enlarger as a light source (close the lens down a few stops to dim the light), or a pen light. Re-exposure should be relatively weak. Make sure that if you accidentally track any developer into your enlarging stall, you sponge it up after your printing session.
• After a few seconds, you will begin to see a change in the print. Before it has reversed to the point that you want, immerse it quickly in the developer for about 30 seconds.
• Stop, fix, hypo-clear and wash as usual.

Rarely will your first effort produce an effective solarization and you will probably need to experiment. There are three variables that you can alter:

the amount of the first exposure (with the negative).
the length of the first development.
the amount of the re-exposure.

By manipulating these variables, you can go from a very slight, barely noticeable solarization to a complete reversal.